Psalms 18:45

18:45 foreigners lose their courage;

they shake with fear as they leave their strongholds.

Psalms 38:7

38:7 For I am overcome with shame

and my whole body is sick.

Psalms 44:16

44:16 before the vindictive enemy

who ridicules and insults me.

Psalms 46:8

46:8 Come! Witness the exploits of the Lord,

who brings devastation to the earth!

Psalms 48:12

48:12 Walk around 10  Zion! Encircle it!

Count its towers!

Psalms 50:10

50:10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,

as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills. 11 

Psalms 73:16

73:16 When I tried to make sense of this,

it was troubling to me. 12 

Psalms 80:13

80:13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it; 13 

the insects 14  of the field feed on it.

Psalms 83:5

83:5 Yes, 15  they devise a unified strategy; 16 

they form an alliance 17  against you.

Psalms 107:3

107:3 and gathered from foreign lands, 18 

from east and west,

from north and south.

Psalms 119:138

119:138 The rules you impose are just, 19 

and absolutely reliable.

Psalms 122:6

122:6 Pray 20  for the peace of Jerusalem!

May those who love her prosper! 21 


tn Heb “wither, wear out.”

tn The meaning of חָרַג (kharag, “shake”) is established on the basis of cognates in Arabic and Aramaic. 2 Sam 22:46 reads חָגַר (khagar), which might mean here, “[they] come limping” (on the basis of a cognate in postbiblical Hebrew). The normal meaning for חָגַר (“gird”) makes little sense here.

tn Heb “from.”

tn Heb “their prisons.” The besieged cities of the foreigners are compared to prisons.

tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”).

tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3).

tn Heb “from the voice of one who ridicules and insults, from the face of an enemy and an avenger.” See Ps 8:2.

sn In this context the Lord’s exploits are military in nature (see vv. 8b-9).

tn Heb “who sets desolations in the earth” (see Isa 13:9). The active participle describes God’s characteristic activity as a warrior.

10 tn The verb forms in vv. 12-13 are plural; the entire Judahite community is addressed.

11 tn Heb “[the] animals on a thousand hills.” The words “that graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The term בְּהֵמוֹה (bÿhemot, “animal”) refers here to cattle (see Ps 104:14).

12 tn Heb “and [when] I pondered to understand this, troubling it [was] in my eyes.”

13 tn The Hebrew verb כִּרְסֵם (kirsem, “to eat away; to ruin”) occurs only here in the OT.

14 tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word translated “insects,” which occurs only here and in Ps 50:11, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic, and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.

15 tn Or “for.”

16 tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”

17 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

18 tn Heb “from lands.” The word “foreign” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

19 tn Heb “you commanded [in] justice your rules.”

20 tn Heb “ask [for].”

21 tn Or “be secure.”